Svechnikov named USHL rookie of the year

Andrei Svechnikov has been named the 2017 USHL Rookie of the Year as determined by a vote of League general managers.

Svechnikov is the first player to win USHL Rookie of the Year while starting the season as a 16-year-old since Kieffer Bellows accomplished the feat with the Sioux Falls Stampede in 2015.

He scored 29 goals and 58 points in 48 games to lead the Muskegon Lumberjacks this season, and finished sixth overall in USHL scoring. He led all rookies in goals and points, and ranked second with 29 assists.

Svechnikov, eligible for the 2018 NHL Draft, also had five goals and eight points in four games representing Russia at the 2016 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, and eight goals and 12 points in four games for Russia at the 2016 World Junior A Challenge.